TTUHSC receives grant for childhood cancer research from St. Baldrick's Foundation

The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center received a one-year infrastructure grant of $53,543 from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a national volunteer-based organization that raises money for childhood cancer research.

The infrastructure grants allow recipients to conduct more research and enroll more kids in clinical trials, according to the news release from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

The foundation awarded more than $25 million in grants in 2012. The release said grants were awarded based on needs of the institutions and patients, anticipated results and local participation in the foundation’s events.

“It’s an organization that raises money specifically for childhood cancer,” said Patrick Reynolds, director of the TTUHSC School of Medicine Cancer Center.

“They focus on being able to get children access to clinical trials, ask questions so we know how to treat children better,” Reynolds said. “It ensures that they are getting the best available therapy that has been addressed by dozens.”

Amanda Knight, certified clinical research profession and South Plains Oncology Consortium operations manager, said the grant will allow the center to fund resources for clinical trials for children.

“Maybe we don’t have a certain trial on it because we didn’t have the resources to have that grant to do everything it requires,” Knight said. “This grant has resources to do all the things required with the trial.”

Knight said the most common cancer the center deals with is Leukemia.

“It helps with trials for all pediatric cancers,” she said. “The majority are Leukemia patients that we take care of right now.”

The St. Baldrick’s website said 100 percent of funds earned by the foundation to research cancer treatments are raised by volunteers.

The organization gives thousands of dollars to research each year.

“It’s an honor to be able to have that grant money to be able to offer care for patients here in the West Texas region,” Knight said. “It’s important that their families know that we’re doing the exact same thing here as they’re doing outside of the country. It’s important to keep patients close to home.”